Montreal's best casual restaurants of 2011: Tasty memories still linger

Sarah Musgrave, Gazette Casual-Dining Critic12.21.2011

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s revamp of the Laurier BBQ drew a strong reaction among local foodies as hate mail flooded in after casual-dining critic Sarah Musgrave said she enjoyed her meal there, including some great fries.John Kenney
/ THE GAZETTE

Sarah Musgrave has her fingers crossed for this place on Crescent St., which uses sustainable ingredients for such dishes as its (left to right) tacos, guacamole and mesclun greens salad.John Kenney
/ THE GAZETTE

Related

A look at some of the restos reviewed in 2011 that stood out from the pack and left a lasting impression on this critic’s taste buds

MONTREAL - Looking over my notes from the last year, January 2011 seemed like so very long ago – yet here we are again with the next January racing toward us.

Winter in Montreal is sort of like childbirth: some hormones must kick in so that you don’t remember how hard it was to get through. That said, I really enjoyed reminiscing about the very different restaurants I visited for this column during these past months.

If there were fewer coups de coeur, as they say in French, places that stood out from the rest of the pack, that’s partly because many meals were good, as was the whole experience around the food.

Whether my destinations were family-run or smartly financed, I found there was more personality – along with more professionalism – informing more levels of the casual scene than there has been in the past. It seemed that in taking chances on launching new places in this economy, restaurateurs either really had their heart in it or were really smart about what people wanted (or ideally both).

So here is an eclectic list of bests, with a little from column A and a little from column B.

Best reason to get your fingers dirty: Icehouse

This popular hangout takes its name from Texas ice houses: before the days of refrigeration, these were buildings that stored and sold ice, along with ice-cold beer and snacks.

Opened by Nick Hodge of Kitchenette, it conveys a sense of plenty (okay, excess) in a tiny location off the Main (plans for extended hours in the new year might ease the lack of elbow room). It’s jam-packed, slightly chaotic and unabashedly messy: they dump the Dr Pepper ribs on the table straight out of a bucket – thus, the wall-mounted paper-towel dispensers.

The rest is a love letter to Tex-Mex trash: jalapeno poppers stuffed with crab, lobster burritos, and chicken-fried fill in the blank (okay, I’ll fill it in: peach pie).

51 Roy St. E., 514-439-6691. No website.

Best basement, elevated: Beirut Garage

It’s downtown and it’s downstairs, neither of which sounds all that alluring. Fortunately, the food at this no-frills restaurant aims high.

Owner-operator Naji Elzein brings pride and flair to classic Lebanese fare, and his use of ultra-fresh ingredients and respect for tradition translate into a touch that has more finesse than at many similar fast-food eateries around town. That goes for the unctuous hummus, the moist crunch of the fattouche salad, and the grilled meats you thought you knew but get to know better here, be they chunks of spiced beef shawarma or plump chicken shish taouk.

Desserts are deadly: don’t miss the knafe (cheesecake) or the baklava and a Turkish coffee to go with it. Mabrouk!

1238 Mackay St., 514-564-2040. No website.

Best gourmet granola: Le Sain Bol

Frédéric Houtin worked in some upscale kitchens – most recently heading east-end bistro Le Valois – before opening this relaxing retreat on a leafy Plateau side street. He uses organic ingredients and local suppliers as much as possible, and is as sensitive to ethical considerations as the dietary restrictions of his clientele (he seems to relish the challenge). He’s a wizard with soups, like a satiny blend of Jerusalem artichoke, squash, vanilla and coconut, and his gravlax shows off salmon’s chubby deliciousness.

Healthful brunches and lunches are punctuated by once-a-week suppers, where he gets more experimental (toasted buckwheat risotto, for example).

Le Sain Bol attracts happy yogis, but you don’t have to be moksha-minded to appreciate the energy put into the food here.

5095 Fabre St., 514-524-2292. No website.

Best use of a strip mall: Aryana

Sometimes you find it where you least expect it. The setting is nondescript, but the scent of spices in the air conveys muted excitement at this Afghani restaurant run by the Afghanzadah family.

There are pleasures to tease from the appetizers – meltingly soft rounds of eggplant in a tomato, lentil and meat sauce, called badunjan burani – to the mains, like expertly grilled meats under a dusting of sumac. The lamb in the Kabuli palow, somewhat of a national dish, combined with fragrant rice, carrot and raisins, was remarkably tender. A bright and multi-dimensional pumpkin dish called kadu chalow was remarkably unforgettable.

Payam Adibmehr had other plans after finishing culinary school, but his family kept him close to his Persian roots. Very close, in fact: his mother does some prep, his father is de facto garde-manger and his sister occasionally fills in as waitress at his Verdun restaurant.

While he allows himself to get fussy with presentation (thyme sprigs and square plates), his BYOB address ultimately pays homage to his mum’s cooking. The benchmark of Iranian cuisine is ash, that traditional soup thick with three kinds of beans, pasta and spinach, and the tummy-warming concoction here scores beautifully. The starting dips served with warm, crisped pita, the braised lamb, and even the omelette are vibrantly flavoured. Just ignore the unnecessarily pandering burger and Caesar on the menu.

This minuscule N.D.G. eatery reflects the lively and slightly out-there attitude of owner Jennie Kim (one might wonder, for instance, why the piano in a four-table restaurant?), who can be seen bantering with customers in between cooking up Korean dishes. Her ever-changing and complimentary banchan are particularly fascinating, from attack-dog kimchee to amazingly crisp lotus root to jiggly acorn jelly. Textures get attention in mains, too, like the bulgogi and the o-sam bokkum stew of chewy squid and thinly sliced pork.

I think I’ve reviewed one 5000 Ans a year for the past three years (there are that many locations in the city, although it is no longer a franchise); the personality behind this one is what sells it.

5887 Sherbrooke St. W., 514-481-4999. No website

Best community spirit: Le Nouveau Palais

Under new ownership, an aging Mile End casse-croute was revived to reflect its changing neighbourhood. The menu doesn’t steer far from what could be called comfort food – matzoh ball soup, eggplant Parmigiano and an amazing sweet-potato pie – though there’s usually a daily special to raise a brow.

What makes the comforting exciting is the lively connections to the bigger culinary and cultural scene that happen here: Gita Seaton organizes monthly soirées in which local cooks come in to create an evening menu, the restaurant hosts the fabulous Grumman 78’s tacos on weekends (or did until recently), does events with small-scale local food producers, and has DJs doing disco breakfast. Do we care that Anthony Bourdain ate here?

I have my fingers crossed for this place. Its dedication to using sustainable ingredients (organic produce where possible, grass-fed beef, Fentiman’s sodas) and to accurately representing the street foods of the world is commendable (Asian Hawker, Mexican Street and American Shack are menu categories).

Bringing them together under one roof, on Crescent St. no less, is audacious – and the hot pants on the waitress and the tinselly soundtrack do worry me.

But the variety of small plates, from fried clams to karaage chicken to dulce de leche cheesecake, hit a lot of the right notes. And a lunch special of guacamole, salad and three tacos was a reasonable $12 – before tip, taxes and several Cuba Libres with Mexican Coke.

Yes, the diner trend has been done, and done and done. Le Gros Jambon conjures up old-style Americana – down to the curved wooden ceiling and retro prints all over the walls – but with this buzzing addition to Old Montreal, the owners of nearby L’Orignal have found a way to repatriate the form.

To wit, the BLT here is a DBLT (with duck confit) and the grilled cheese has lobster in it.

Standards are not overlooked, either: the hotdogs are Nathan’s, the meat loaf is bacon-wrapped, and the marshmallows are rosewater-infused. I even fell for the mac ’n’ cheese, another dish that’s so done it’s dumb. Also, the staff is friendly. And it’s open late.

286 Notre-Dame St. W., 514-508-3872. No website.

Best lightning rod: Laurier Gordon Ramsay

Love to hate, hate to love; this was the polarizing opening – make that rebranding – of the year in Montreal.

Love is perhaps too strong a word to describe my feelings for the revamp of long-lived Laurier BBQ by a celebrity chef, but hate certainly describes the mail I got as a result of saying I enjoyed my meal there.

Chef Shouty Pants aside, as it doesn’t really matter who’s behind the restaurant’s redo, I expected and got decent rotisserie chicken, scratch sauce and great fries. Even if the bird was less memorable than some other calculated dishes, like salmon (on a plank, of course), kid’s mac ’n’ cheese (in a cocotte, of course) and crème brûlée (with maple, of course), I’d get it again.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Montreal's best casual restaurants of 2011: Tasty memories still linger